No, not something ridiculous. THE MOST ridiculous thing, ever.

I was talking to my friend Alice at the CTAC fundraiser the other night, and started telling her about my situation at school. We got interrupted, and she said, “So you were saying that you were dealing with something ridiculous at school?” I then responded, “No, not something ridiculous. THE MOST ridiculous thing, ever.” Below is my story.

I checked my inbox this morning to find a note from the Dean’s assistant, stating that a flyer I had submitted had been edited by the Dean.

WHAT?!

Over the last several years here, I have been posting flyers with no permission. The only reason I submitted it was because I wanted it posted on the TV monitors around campus, and in the bulletin.

The student handbook clearly states that student groups can post things freely in designated areas, whereas external groups need approval. SDS is a recognized student group. However, the Dean’s assistant, Marisol, copped an attitude with me when I told her I wasn’t aware of any such approval policy, and said it was pretty clearly written in the handbook. She then showed me the paragraph, which actually said just what I had explained.

So what exactly was the issue with the text? Apparently, describing SDS as, “a group for people with Left or Liberal views” is going to be too specific to get people to join. So, so many things wrong with this picture. First, she’s out of line telling me how to organize. Second, she has no authority on the matter. Third, this is bullshit.

Anyway, I’m using the flyer with the “minor change,” to post up around school in the meantime, and passing out the original flyers because there is ZERO regulation on that. I’m meeting with her next week, and trying to get in touch with the ACLU and NLG in the meantime. I want to nail her to the wall on this, because this is such unbelievable bullshit, but unfortunately, she’s also quite the gatekeeper when it comes to reserving the campus facilities. She’s not like the security guard I butted heads with last semester over political discrimination that I raised hell about.

1 week later…

I had my little meeting with the Dean of Student Services on Tuesday. First of all, I aked what exactly the issue with the text of the flyer was. She said it was discriminatory against people without “left or liberal views,” and that was against school system policy.

I then asked if we were to describe the organization as left/liberal, as opposed to describing the membership, if that would be acceptable. She said yes.

WHAT?!

I then asked if the next version of the student handbook would have the updated policy on distributing materials on campus. She said the current one did. I explained that it did not. She then changed her story and said that the “student club handbook,” which has not been available for several years, had that policy written in it, and hopefully the head of student activities would have that out again some day.

Fine. And so I left.

Yesterday, I was speaking with my faculty advisor, Hassan about the situation. Someone else was in his office who had been the faculty advisor for the student senate for a number of years, and she said that there has never been any such thing as a student club handbook.

Huh.

So, there you have the quality of leadership and administrative abilities at my school. Whatever you do, don’t give a paying student a straight answer. If you get caught in a half-truth, make something up and lie.

So, after asking everyone under the sun for some WRITTEN RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS ON CAMPUS, I’ve been given nothing but arbitrary rules and misleading answers.

Today I sent the college and the college system requests for the above-stated information under the Freedom of Information Act. Can you imagine? This is by far the craziest shit I have ever encountered. But here’s the thing: the reason I have to do this is because very few people actually want to be at this school. Most students are not used to navigating bureaucracy, let along organizing their fellow-students. Most are too busy running between classes and work.

On top of that, the administration is completely absorbed by their own career path. They really, really don’t care about the students, and they have no reason to because no one holds them accountable. Everyone I know has been jerked around by this school, whether it’s with getting their transcripts, books, class schedules, and the list goes on and on.

This is why we need SDS here. We need a group that can take grievances, investigate, and mobilize the student body for action. If not SDS, we can always start a student union.

My request will be answered within 10 days. Rock on.